Wednesday, September 14, 2016

5:00 AM

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is going up with a new TV ad that praises him as a “strong player” in helping complete the adoptions of children from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The ad features Green Bay’s Craig family, who adopted a daughter from Congo; Nicole narrates the spot.

She opens the ad saying 25 children from the African country died waiting to come home after their adoptions were completed, and there weren’t clear reasons why they couldn’t leave.

She says they had to go to Washington and “needed someone to be a voice for these kids.” She calls Johnson a strong player, saying she knew “it was as important to him for her to come home” as it was for their family.

“I mean, I can’t even tell you how that felt,” she says, her voice cracking slightly. “He was going to do whatever he could to get these kids home.”

The Johnson campaign said it is running 30- and 60-second versions of the spot on TV and online. The longer version includes Nicole reading a handwritten note from Johnson.